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Public Webinar to Discuss Assembly Bill 617 Community Air Protection Incentives 2019 Guidelines for Stationary Source and Community-Identified Projects

The California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) is pleased to invite you to participate in a public webinar to discuss a proposed process to expand eligible project categories for the Community Air Protection Incentives 2019 Guidelines (CAP Guidelines).  At the May 2019 Board hearing, CARB staff was directed to provide more flexibility within the CAP Guidelines to allow communities and air districts the ability to develop specific projects to quickly address local air quality concerns.  This would allow air districts to address strategies identified by communities selected to develop community emission reduction programs and other sources of stationary air pollution.

This webinar will provide residents, community-based organizations, air districts, and other stakeholders an opportunity to engage with CARB staff on the process to add additional project types not covered in the CAP guidelines.  The webinar will discuss new project eligibility and criteria for AB 617 CAP incentive funding ensuring those projects will meet all applicable statutory and other requirements.

In addition to the proposed draft language, staff has developed a one-page summary of the expanded process to assist in discussions.  All meeting materials will be posted on the Community Air Protection Incentives website prior to the webinar.

This meeting is webinar only and will be conducted in English and Spanish, no in-person attendance will be available.  Interactive audio is accessible with either your computer’s audio using the link provided or the dial-in number below.  The webinar will be recorded for later viewing.

DATE:                  Thursday, May 14, 2020
TIME:                   4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
WEBINAR:           Register (Please register before May 14, 2020, 4:00 p.m.)
WEBINAR ID:      724-803-971
CALL-IN:              +1 (415) 930-5229
PASSCODE:        119-118-201

Background

CARB established the Community Air Protection Program to implement Assembly Bill (AB) 617 (C. Garcia, Chapter 136, Statutes of 2017), which requires new community-focused action to reduce air pollution and improve public health in communities that experience disproportionate burdens from exposure to air pollutants.  AB 617 calls for CARB and the air districts to actively engage with members of impacted communities and address local sources of concern.

To support the AB 617 requirements, the Governor signed AB 134 (Chapter 14, Statutes of 2017), appropriating $250 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to support early actions to reduce emissions in impacted communities.  Staff initially developed the CAP Funds Supplement to the Moyer Program 2017 Guidelines that allowed air districts to use funds immediately while the CAP Guidelines were under development.  This supplement was approved by the Board on April 27, 2018.

As part of the Budget Act of 2018, as amended by Senate Bill (SB) 856 (Chapter 30, Statutes of 2018), the Legislature appropriated an additional $245 million in fiscal year 2018-19 to be used on the existing 2017 Carl Moyer Program categories and newly-developed CAP incentive categories of hexavalent chrome facilities, transportation, air filtration, composite wood, and lawn and garden equipment at schools.

On May 23, 2019, the Board approved the CAP Guidelines and issued Resolution 19-12 in response to community and air district comments requesting increased flexibility and transparency in the CAP Program.   Resolution 19-12 directed staff to work with air districts to ensure incentive funds are utilized in accordance with feedback received during community outreach completed in the process of implementing AB 617.  Resolution 19-12 also delegated authority to the Executive Officer to make changes to the CAP Guidelines to include additional projects of priority and concern to impacted communities and ensure the CAP Guidelines remain effective and up-to-date, while being responsive to community emissions reduction programs.

Additional Information

For information on Community Air Protection Incentives including meeting notices and email updates, please subscribe.

Staff welcomes additional input from community members regarding the stationary source and community identified projects. Please email AB617Incentives@arb.ca.gov or call Mr. Derek Winters, Air Resources Engineer at (626) 450-6276 for more information.

More Information

Special Accommodations Request

Consistent with California Government Code Section 7296.2, special accommodation or language needs may be provided for any of the following:

• An interpreter to be available during the webinar;
• Documents made available in an alternate format or another language;
• A disability-related reasonable accommodation.

To request these special accommodations or language needs, please contact Mr. Derek Winters at (626) 450-6276 as soon as possible, but no later than five business days before the scheduled meeting. TTY/TDD/Speech to Speech users may dial 711 for the California Relay Service.